My winter tortoise house

Benito

Active Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2016
Messages
83
Location (City and/or State)
New Jersey
Nice job! You made good use of that pre-built shed. Nice insulation and a ton of outlets.
Thanks. The 4000 watt heater barely kicks on and went with a 60 amp subpanel. So I have plenty of flexibility. 2 years from now th Aldabras will need one just for themselves
 

Benito

Active Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2016
Messages
83
Location (City and/or State)
New Jersey
Few pics of some of the smaller greenhouse I made. They are usually outside until mid October. But every year is different.
 

Attachments

  • 20170603_194738.jpg
    20170603_194738.jpg
    3.7 MB · Views: 130
  • 20170530_075220.jpg
    20170530_075220.jpg
    3.8 MB · Views: 133
  • 20170520_132756.jpg
    20170520_132756.jpg
    267.1 KB · Views: 113
  • 20170527_132753.jpg
    20170527_132753.jpg
    350 KB · Views: 112
  • 2017-06-02_07-53-49.jpg
    2017-06-02_07-53-49.jpg
    2.4 MB · Views: 117
  • 2017-06-02_07-54-26.jpg
    2017-06-02_07-54-26.jpg
    3.4 MB · Views: 127
  • 20170527_160417.jpg
    20170527_160417.jpg
    264 KB · Views: 112
  • 20170520_132814.jpg
    20170520_132814.jpg
    259.7 KB · Views: 116
  • 20170520_132845.jpg
    20170520_132845.jpg
    283.9 KB · Views: 124
  • 20170527_132753.jpg
    20170527_132753.jpg
    350 KB · Views: 121
  • 2017-05-29_06-16-48.jpg
    2017-05-29_06-16-48.jpg
    3.6 MB · Views: 118
  • 20170603_194745.jpg
    20170603_194745.jpg
    3.7 MB · Views: 120
Last edited:

Benito

Active Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2016
Messages
83
Location (City and/or State)
New Jersey
So far no they are protected in heavy guage wire and their lid is latched down tight. I do have a motion light on them so when it kicks on it lights up my bedroom pretty good. I am constantly checking on them and looking for signs of predators. But I do cross my fingers everyday and am always worried for them. But if a raccoon wants something bad enough they usually get it. When they are in their forever pens I will do things 100 percent and cover all my bases.
 

Benito

Active Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2016
Messages
83
Location (City and/or State)
New Jersey
One thing I like about my pens is i can still move them. When they eat all the weeds i move it over 10 ft and then they always have fresh food. This year my Aldabras will be in a dog pen type set up with a walk in gate with extra panels when needed. They are only 13 and 14 inches and the kennel can be easily moved to a fresh section of grass when they mow it down. I have giant deck boxes modified with heat lamps on the colder days and night. That outlet is powered by an app on my phone i can turn on and off at anytime. Looking to get 3 acres plus in 2019 and will construct some amazing setups then. Until then these will suffice.
 

Jschmid33

New Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2018
Messages
22
Location (City and/or State)
Wisconsn
Simply amazing! I was just talking about this to my very supportive wife about doing this in a few years. After my tortoise grows up and I get a few more. Perfect setup as I live in Wisconsin so they can only be outside for short time frames of the year. I saved a few pictures as examples/ future goals. Keep up the great work and you have some amazing Aldabra tortoises (my favorite species just simply dont have the space for them)
 

Benito

Active Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2016
Messages
83
Location (City and/or State)
New Jersey
Simply amazing! I was just talking about this to my very supportive wife about doing this in a few years. After my tortoise grows up and I get a few more. Perfect setup as I live in Wisconsin so they can only be outside for short time frames of the year. I saved a few pictures as examples/ future goals. Keep up the great work and you have some amazing Aldabra tortoises (my favorite species just simply dont have the space for them)
Thank you, this set up is perfect for Wisconsin's winters . 4 inches thick clisrd cell sprayfoam on ceiling and 3.5 in the walls. Have a cadet 4000 wall in wall heater on a 22amp double pole thermostat on a 30 amp circuit in my 60 amp subpanel . Installed 52 outlets on 5 different circuits so I can put lights anywhere. With this setup my heater kicks on very little. I run (11) 125 watt clear infrared bulbs 12 hrs a day and (11) 48 inch 54 watt t5 ho fixtures with Arcadia 12%bulbs from 6 am till 7pm daily. That usually generates mist of my heat. I also mounted an oscillating fan facing downward to keep the heat from rising. Appreciate yiur kind words and feel free to mimic my setup. I take that as a compliment.
 

Jschmid33

New Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2018
Messages
22
Location (City and/or State)
Wisconsn
Thank you, this set up is perfect for Wisconsin's winters . 4 inches thick clisrd cell sprayfoam on ceiling and 3.5 in the walls. Have a cadet 4000 wall in wall heater on a 22amp double pole thermostat on a 30 amp circuit in my 60 amp subpanel . Installed 52 outlets on 5 different circuits so I can put lights anywhere. With this setup my heater kicks on very little. I run (11) 125 watt clear infrared bulbs 12 hrs a day and (11) 48 inch 54 watt t5 ho fixtures with Arcadia 12%bulbs from 6 am till 7pm daily. That usually generates mist of my heat. I also mounted an oscillating fan facing downward to keep the heat from rising. Appreciate yiur kind words and feel free to mimic my setup. I take that as a compliment.
Being a new setup not sure if you have the facts yet but what is the energy cost to run an amazing building like that to keep your torts happy and healthy?
 

Benito

Active Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2016
Messages
83
Location (City and/or State)
New Jersey
Well I keep my house on the chilly side . So last months gas and electric combined was 300 and BY has been iced over most of the month. I also live alone and dont leave lights on run dryer twice a week . I would say 100 a month the most so far. really havent ever did the kilowatt math. This tortoise house is 500 % better insulated then my home. So when I had them in the garage it cost more money to heat.
 

New Posts

Top